Medical appliance.



C. W. J. SPECHT. MEDICAL APPLIANGE.

APPLIoATIoN FILED JAN. s, 1914.

1, 1 1 5,981 Patented Nov. 3, 1914.

Z 5,2 55 jllecha l Y v CHARLES W. J'. SPECHT, OF FAIRVIEW, OKLAHOMA.

MEDICAL APPLIANCE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

i Patented News, 1914..

Application filed January 6, 1914. Sera1No.` 810,621.

proved medical appliance, the object of my invention being r the provision of an appliance or device adapted to stimulate the nerve centers of a patient and in this mannerrestore health. j y

Myj invention comprehends the provision of an apparatus for simultaneously rubbing or massaging the patient and for applying the Water, liniment or other bath to the parts being treated. i

A further object of my invention is the provision of a receptacle for" holding the bath provided with a massaging devicey mounted upon the receptacle and extending partially Within the same, the receptacle and massaging device being so arranged that a portion of the receptacle may be uti lized as a support for thepatient being treated. In this connection i provide a rotatably mounted drum, the outer peripheral vface 'of Whichis covered lwith cloth or other absorbent material, the said material being adapted to take upa part ofthe liquid contained in the receptacle and rub it'into 'that portion of the patients body to `be treated. f Y Other minor objects which I have in View a-re'the `provision of .La :simple means for securing the fabric to the drum, the provi sion 'of a drum, the periphery of which is concave-convex to permit a closer application 'of 'portions 4of the body to the apparay tus, the provision of removable supporting legs for the receptacle and the provision of a bracket or table forming a support for the patient. v 'l With these and other objects in view, my invention will be more fully described,

illustrated in the accompanying drawing,

and then specifically pointed out yin the claims which are attached to and form a partvrof Lthis application. v

Tn the 'drawing-Figure 1 is a perspective view of myimproved apparatus; Fig. 2 lis 'a detail sectional view taken trans-v versely of the drum through the line v'2*2 edges of the receptacle.

of Fig. 3; Fig. f3-is a fragmentary sectional view taken through `the line 3--3 of Fig. 2.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following 'descriptions and `indicated in all the Aviews of the dravvingby the same reference characters.

In its simplesty form, the preferred em-` bodiment of my invention, as illustrated in the drawing, includes a liquid or bath holdingreceptacle 10 and a rubbing or massaging apparatus 11.

The receptaclek 10, ywhich is preferably semi-cylindrical iny shape and open at its upper cnd,-is formed with sidemembers 12 and 1S of sheet metal, each substantially semi#'circulary in shape and each having its peripheral. edge portioubent or deflected at right angles to the body portion toprovide a flange kThese side membersare secured in properspacedV relation vby a'strip `of sheet `metal 15 Which forms the bottom and ends of the receptacle, this strip being substantially rectangular in shape and engaging by its longitudinal edges against the inner faces of the sides 12 and `13.y

rihe strip l5 is curved longitudinally to bear throughout its length against the in` ner facesof the iianges 11i of the sidesv and is secured Ain place bysoldering'or byv any other preferred means. As clearly shown in Fig. 1, the ends `of this stripV project beyond the upper edges of the receptacle formed bythe strip 15 and sides 12 'and '13, one of the extensions being curved longitudinally to provide yan apron 16 forming ineffect a continuation of the end of the receptacle and the other end of the strip being 1bent outwardly to provide a table portion 17 lying inthe plane ofthe upper The upper'edge portions of the sides of the receptacle-are reinforced bystrips of sheet metal 18 which `are preferably soldered to theouter faces ofthe sides 12 4and 13 and additionally secured'by any suitable means such as rivets 19. y These strips, Which are relatively Wide, extend throughout the entirelength of thereceptacle and adjacent their end portions are bent outwardly@ to provide socket forming loops 20 to detachably receive the' upper ends of supporting legs 21. vThese supporting legs,\vhich are j n'e'ferably formed of metal, are L-sha'ped in section including the j'body portions -22 e'cpialy in Width t Width Iof the sockets 20 and the outwardly directed, relatively narrow anges 23 which are cut-away at their upper ends to engage against the lower edges of the strips 18 vand limit the movement of the legs into the sockets. These flanges 23 also serve to stien and otherwise strengthen the legs, enabling them to support considerably more weight than would `be possible otherwise. lThe lower ends of the flanges 23 are cut-away and the lower ends of the body portions 22 of the supportinglegs are bent outwardly at right angles to forni feet 24 in order to in sure a. steady and uniform support for the receptacle. The receptacle is preferably provided at its lowest point with a drain cock 25 lof any suitable construction.

y Secured to the outer faces of the strips 18 adjacent the upper edges of the receptacle and centrally of said strips, are alined, twopart bearings 26 which receive the reduced end portions 27 ofthe hub 28 of the massage device or drum 11. This drum includes the hub 28, the rim or body portion 29 and a plurality of radially extending resilient spokes 30 connecting the hub and body portion of thedrum. The body portion 29 of the drum is formed from a single strip of resilient metal bent into annular form, as clearly shown in Fig. 1, and also curved transversely throughout its length as shown in Fig. 2 by which means a drum is provided, the outer face of which is convexed transversely. The end portions of the body member 29 overlap each other to pro` vide a lap joint and are detachably secured in place by a threaded stud 31, the head of which-is countersunk in the outer or overlapping end portion of the body and the shank of which extends through a perforation32 formed in the inner or overlapped end of the body. Threaded upon this stud is a wing nut 33 by means of which the overlapping end portions of the body 29 may be drawn together. The fabric covering 3ft of this massage drum is formed from a single piece of fabric of any suitable weave and quality, a. comparatively rough, coarse fabric being preferred, and this covering is secured upon the drumby inserting one end thereof between the overlapping ends of the `body member 29 and clamping it in place by tightening the wing nut 33. Thestrip of fabric is then wound about the periphery of the drum in the manner clearly shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing, the fabric preferably being of such length as to pass two or three times completely about the drum, the outer end of the fabric being left free and unattached.

In order to provide means for rotating the drum, one end of the hub 28 is extended beyond the adjacent bearing 26 and provided with a crank arm 35 secured to the hub in any suitable manner as byv a -set nut 36 and provided at its free end with a handle 37. The drum, in use, is rotated in such a manner that that portion of its periphery passing the shelf or table 17 of the receptacle will be moving upwardly. In other in the opposite direction from that in which the drum is to rotate, in this case in a counter-clockwise direction.

In employing my improved medical appliance, `a sufficient quantity of the liquid which is to be employed in the treatment is placed in the receptacle, enough being always employed to partially submerge the drum 11. The patient is then placed partially or wholly upon the shelf or table 17 in such4 a position that thatportion of the patients body to be treated will be in engagement with the peripheral face of the drum and the drum is then rotated in the direction indicated'by the arrow. It will be clear that the fabric covering of the drum will become saturated with'the liquid contained in thevreceptacle and it will therefore apply and thoroughly rub such liquid into the body of the patient. The convex outer face of the drum tends to prevent displacement of the fabric covering when the latter is once saturated with the liquid and also permits closer application of the body of the patient to the drum. The liquid employed is usually hot or cold water depending upon the complaint for which the patient is being treated, although oils or other liniments may be employed in the place of water. Because of the form of clamp illustrated for securing the fabric strip in place, it will be clear that after treating the patient, the fabric maybe readily removed and a fresh strip substituted in its place.

Although 1 have illustrated and described my improved appliance in all its details, it will of course be understood that I do not wish in any way to limit myself to the specic details set forth, as various minor changes in construction, within the scope of the appended claims, may be made at any time without in the slightest degree departing from the spirit of my invention. For instance I do not wish to limit myself to the employment of a -hand crank for rotating the massage drum as the same may be driven by power transmitted from an electric or water motor or other suitable source, if preferred.A

vHaving thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A medical appliance including a rotatable massage drum having an annular body portion with detachable overlapping ends, and means for clamping the ends t0- gether. v

2. A medical appliance including a rotatable massage drum having an annular body portion with detachable overlapping ends, means for clamping the ends together, and a strip of fabric clamped by one end between the overlapping ends of the body member and wound about the periphery of the drum.

8. A medical appliance including a semicylindrical receptacle provided at one end with an upstanding apron, and a soft surfaced massage drum mounted for rotation and extending partially within the receptacle. f i

4. A medical appliance including a bath holding receptacle provided at one end with a laterally directed shelf, a massage drum mounted for rotation and extending partially within thel receptacle, the peripheral face of the drum being disposed adjacent the shelf, and an absorbent 'covering for the drum.

5. A medical appliance including a receptacle, an upwardly directed apron at one end of the receptacle, a laterally extending shelf at the opposite end of the receptacle, and a massage drum having a covering extending partially within the receptacle and mounted for rotation about an axis extending transversely of thereceptacle and intermediate its length.

6. A medical appliance including a rotatable massage drum having an annular re# silient body portion with detachable overlapping ends, a threaded stud carried by one e end and passable inwardlyy through a p erforation formed in the other end, a clamping nut for such stud to clamp the overlapping ends together, and a strip of fabric having one end clamped between the overlapping ends and its opposite endfree of attachment.

7. A medical yappliance including a bath holding receptacle, a rotatable massage drum carried by the receptacle, the peripheral facek of the kdrum being convextransversely, and

a covering of fabric secured by one end to the drum and wound about it peripherally, the other end of the fabric being free of attachment.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature ,i

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. C. t 

